A schoolgirl from Cobham was one of three girls to win a national competition for the Shakespeare for Schools Festival.

Annie Lewis, 11, who attends Notre Dame Prep School, does weekly classes at Step on Stage Academy of Performing Arts and was chosen from auditions to become part of the cast for the Merchant of Venice.

Annie was one of three girls chosen to become part of the marketing team and they had to put together a marketing strategy to promote the show and festival.

The girls attended a marketing workshop at the beginning of their rehearsal process and then had weekly meetings at rehearsals to discuss how they could develop their own marketing strategy.

The judges commented on the speech Annie wrote about the festival and her involvement for her school assembly, saying it promoted the ethos of the national festival and the enjoyment the Shakespeare for Schools Festival can bring out in young performers.

Annie said: “I’m so excited to have won and I’m especially pleased that they enjoyed my speech. This was a great opportunity for us and the school to be involved with and I’ll definitely audition again.”

Step on Stage was one of 700 schools nationwide to participate in the festival which sees young people aged nine to 18 perform a 30-minute version of one of Shakespeare’s plays at a professional theatre.